Weapons have been used for centuries to protect life and property and aid in sustaining life. Firearms allow our armies and police officers to engage in combat and different confrontations to bring about peace and harmony.
Firearms are a major cause of crime in the world today. Weapons used by young children provide a means for them to conduct mass killings in our schools and on the streets. Criminals injure, maim and kill hundreds of people each year by the use of firearms. Children playing with unsecured weapons are also maimed, injured or killed.
Our government leaders are working diligently to structure gun control laws that will allow us to live in a safer environment. One or more gun control laws being considered are safety locks and safety devices to prevent firearms from firing.
Trigger locks are safety devices used to prevent weapons from being discharged. Most trigger guards do provide a means of safety but are time consuming for someone that is required to use the weapon in an emergency situation. It is dangerous to place a trigger lock on a loaded weapon.
Many safety devices are designed to have a rod inserted in the muzzle and an attachment inserted in the firing chamber connected to the rod and pulled or tightened to swell in the weapons firing chamber. Usually, this is accomplished by twisting the rod clockwise to lock and counter-clockwise to unlock, many are keyed. These type barrel devices are again, time consuming, expensive and could result in injury or death if an apparatus is being installed in a loaded weapon. A person in a hurried situation could conceivably remove the device inserted in the firing chamber and leave the rod in the barrel, chamber a round, and fire the weapon that would result in injury or death to the user.
Many devices have been invented to prevent firearms from being discharged. One such device described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,923, to Smith, show a safety clip attached to the handgrip of a shotgun. The clip further extends upward and into the magazine, the clip then curls back and against the shell that is ready to be injected into the firing chamber. This system would prevent semi-automatic and automatic shotguns from being fired if there is no shell present in the firing chamber before the safety clip is installed. Mr. Smith's safety device would be of little use on other firearms. For example, the device could not be mounted to a single barrel firearm or a break-over shotgun.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,992, to Layergne, shows a locking apparatus inserted into the magazine of a weapon with a frame extending upward with said frame having a keyed lock, when rotated, positions a lever down and into the ejection port. The art displayed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,992, to Mr. Layergne, limits the use of the firearm safety device to magazine type firearms.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,965,952 and 5,097,613 to Miller, depicts a loaded, live semi-automatic rifle cartridge, as used by the U.S. Military M-16 Rifle. Further art displays a safety plug designed similar to the M-16's cartridge and manufactured by using certain plastics or alloy materials. The art displays a visual indicator tab protruding from the ejection port that allows visual inspection to determine if a live round has been injected into the firing chamber. The safety plug is of great benefit to allow visual inspection but can be easily removed by opening the breech and manually removing the tab and plug. After removing the plug a child, adult or perpetrator would be allowed to use the weapon.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,236, to Del Real, is basically a rack and pinion movable device and relies largely on a key for positioning. This apparatus rests against the weapons bolt on one end and against the outside opening of the weapon's firing chamber on the opposite end. Mr. Del Real's safety device, when in the locked position allows a live shell in the weapon's firing chamber that could possibly be discharged.
Safety plugs, locking mechanisms, gun locking devices and chamber devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,014,457, 5,070,635, 4,995,180, 5,038,580, 5,419,069, 5,475,994 and 5,669,252.
It is the objective of the present invention to provide a fast and safe method for securing a firearm by blocking the ejection port and firing chamber.
REFERENCES CITED U.S. Patent Documents 4058923 Nov., 1977 Smith 421 LP 4654992 Apr., 1987 Lavergne 42/70.01 4965952 Oct., 1990 Miller 42/70.01 4995180 Feb., 1991 Tucker 42/70.11 5014457 May, 1991 Lewis 42/70.11 5038580 Aug., 1991 Brown 42/70.11 5070635 Dec., 1991 Cventanovich 42/70.11 5097613 Mar., 1992 Miller 42/70.01 5231236 Jul., 1993 Del Real 42/70.11 5419069 May 1995 Mumbleau 42/70.11 5475994 Dec., 1995 Briley 70/34 5669252 Sept., 1997 Bentley 70/14